Somewhere I've Never Been
by chassecroise
Summary: Born with cat ears and a tail due to a family curse, Adrien Agreste has grown up isolated from the world. As the only way to break the curse is to find true love with "one of his own kind", his father arranges meetings with many young socialites. They all reject him, except for one, who is actually a young woman named Marinette hired to pose as a suitor. (A Penelope AU!)
1. Prologue

Once upon a time in Paris, there lived a young maid named Bridgette who was in love with Felix Agreste, the son of the rich family for whom she worked. When she confessed her love to him, she was cruelly spurned by him, and soon died of a broken heart. Furious at the callous young man, the young maid's father placed a curse on his family so that the next son born to them would have the features of a black cat, the only creature to whom Felix had ever shown affection.

Luckily, for the next five generations, the Agrestes only gave birth to daughters, preserving their family name by telling the men who married them that it was an Agreste tradition for those who married into the family to change their names. Because the Agrestes were a powerful and influential family, nobody ever questioned why.

It was a system that worked well for almost two hundred years, and the curse was almost forgotten.

That is, of course, until Gabriel and Audrey Agreste gave birth to Adrien, the first son born into the Agreste family in nearly two centuries.

With soft green eyes, a bright smile, and a head full of wispy blond hair, Adrien was perfect and beautiful in every single way- except for the fact that he also had a pair of cat ears and a tail.

Gabriel and Audrey tried to take it in stride after they learned that Adrien's ears and tail could not be surgically removed, adapting the pieces from their popular children's clothing lines and adjusting them to meet their infant son's unusual appendages. And in fact, many a family photo was taken of baby Adrien curling his tail around his mother's wrist when she held him in her arms, while Gabriel even designed accessories for his ears and tail.

Unfortunately, word eventually got out that Madame Agreste had given birth to a son, and the world was eager to meet the first male heir to the Agreste fashion empire in many generations. One of those who was curious about the boy was a reporter known in the industry as Master Fu, due to his decades of experience.

After repeatedly getting denied requests for a short photo op and interview by Nathalie, the Agrestes' secretary, Master Fu decided to take matters into his own hands and snuck onto the Agreste estate grounds one morning a few days before Adrien's first birthday in an attempt to catch a candid photo of the boy playing alone in the estate gardens, where the Agreste children were known to spend time.

Unfortunately for Master Fu, instead of finding Adrien alone, he found Madame Agreste with him.

Audrey was so shocked by the presence of a reporter on her private property that she forgot all sense of propriety and quickly scooped Adrien into her arms and whirled him out of sight before roundhouse kicking Master Fu in the legs and tossing him out of the garden, leaving the reporter with a permanent limp and a burning curiosity as to why she didn't want him to see her son.

Frightened by the experience, Audrey and Gabriel decided it would be much safer for Adrien to stay within the boundaries of the mansion until he grew up, so they decided to announce to the public that their son was going to be raised abroad, while actually hiding him away from the eyes of the world.

However, despite the care both Gabriel and Audrey took to keep their son shielded from the world, a short editorial published by Master Fu (whose sharp eyes had seen much more of Adrien than Audrey had hoped) after his experience in the gardens became the source of many rumors that would continue to circulate around the Agrestes for many years about where Adrien really was and why he had never been seen in public.

Despite the controversy swirling around outside the mansion gates, both Gabriel and Audrey tried to bring the world to Adrien so that he would never feel the desire to leave, turning his room into a veritable wonderland of things to do while tutoring him in every skill possible.

Though he had many talents, perhaps because of his large ears, Adrien was particularly skilled at the piano (though he couldn't sing to save his life), and he was also very fond of the little indoor garden he had planted by his large windows (especially the catnip, which he had planted as a joke but ended up actually loving and occasionally nibbled on).

Naive and sweet, Adrien never questioned why his parents kept him hidden from the world, though he often suspected his unusual features had something to do with it, considering that he was the only person he knew who had ears and a tail. He accepted at face value his mother's promise that once he turned eighteen, things would change.

Although he lived a quiet and lonely life, Adrien looked forward to the day when he would eventually get a chance to move beyond his daily routine, and to perhaps see the world beyond the borders of the mansion grounds. He loved his parents and he wanted to make them happy, but he couldn't deny that the little seeds of curiosity planted into his heart by the books he had read as a child were taking root, and he wanted to take flight.

As the days went on and his eighteenth birthday grew closer and closer, Adrien's heart filled with anticipation. He had no idea what to expect, but he was sure it would be wonderful. Perhaps he would finally get to leave the mansion- maybe he would even go to the Jardin des Plantes! He'd read about it in a book, and he was dying to see it in person. Or perhaps he would go to a live performance at the Paris Opera Ballet, and see the musicians he had been listening to for years on his mother's records.

What Adrien didn't expect was for his father to come into his room on the morning of his eighteenth birthday and tell him it was time for him to get married.


	2. Lila

"Oh, my Adrien, my dear, sweet Adrien, like you, I've felt imprisoned…by my wealth, by my family name, by my beauty, by the expectations everyone places on me because I am a Rossi. Most of my life, I've felt trapped. I'd given up hope of ever finding a man who truly understands me...that is…until I met you."

In the kitchen, Gabriel, Audrey, and Nathalie, the blueblood matchmaker Gabriel had hired, watched the video feed from the Agreste library with bated breath. They had set the video feed up so they could observe the young women who had come seeking Adrien's hand in marriage in privacy, allowing Audrey and Nathalie to provide running commentary on whether they thought the girls who came by were suitable for Adrien or not.

It also allowed Gabriel to take note of everything that was happening and to make sure that none of the young women who walked into the room where they could communicate with Adrien through a one-way mirror where he could see them—but they could not see him—were breaking the terms of the gag order they had signed.

Two months into their search for Adrien's bride, not one meeting had proved successful. But this girl appeared to have potential.

"I knew it! She's the one," said Nathalie, eyes lighting up. "It seems like she may understand our Adrien."

"I don't know, Nathalie," replied Audrey, looking skeptically into the camera. "Something about her seems a little off. She's being far too sweet for my taste. Something's fishy."

Gabriel peered into the television with appraising eyes. "Saccharine or not, if she is the right girl, than our son's curse will be broken. And my instincts are telling me that she is indeed the one."

"Dearest Adrien, curse or no curse, if I am more than my name and title, then surely you are more than yours."

Adrien peered through the one-way mirror at the girl standing before him in the library, a tall brunette named Lila with piercing green eyes that seemed a little too keen and a low, melodious voice.

"Adrien," she whispered, her voice almost a purr. "Let me in."

He wasn't sure whether to trust her or not, but his instincts were telling him that perhaps this girl was the one—perhaps she wouldn't run away screaming like all the other girls had when they saw his cat ears and tail, the reason his father had forced every girl who came through the Agreste mansion doors to sign an gag order prior to meeting him.

So he did.

"No!" cried Gabriel from the kitchen, watching in horror as his son opened the secret door behind the bookshelves, ears perked up, with his tail curled around a bouquet of fresh flowers from his indoor garden, which he presented to her with a smile.

"Hi, I'm Adrien."

Unfortunately, Lila's eyes bulged out in terror at the sight of him, and she immediately bolted out the door.

"HE'S A CAT! A MONSTER! I'VE BEEN LIED TO! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" she screamed, running down the stairs and out of the mansion, so quickly that Gerard, the Agreste butler, wasn't able to move fast enough to remind her of the gag order she had signed and that she was forbidden from telling anyone—especially the press—about Adrien's unique condition.

* * *

"Why, Adrien? Why?" Gabriel moaned as he rushed into the library room with a frustrated sigh, pressing his hands to his temples. "Why did you come into the room? We discussed this. You were to wait until at least the second meeting to reveal your appearance to her. Why do you keep making the same mistake again and again?"

"I'm not the one who ran, Father," protested Adrien, frowning.

Gabriel scowled. "Of course she was going to run! You never give any of those poor young women a chance to process anything before springing yourself at them like a common housecat. What ever possessed you to think that it was a good idea to let her see your ears and tail just because she was speaking to you in a sweet voice? Do you think I told your mother how loudly I snore the first time we met? Of course not! I had the good sense to wait until after we were married."

"This isn't about snoring, Father. It's about _my own face_."

Gabriel groaned and sat on the bottom of the steps, his face in his hands.

"She was the perfect bride. Tall, beautiful, cultured…and it was clear that she liked you."

"No, Father, she really didn't," said Adrien, soft but firm.

"She did. It was your ears and tail she didn't like. And you are _not_ your ears and tail," said Gabriel, emphatically.

Adrien frowned. "But…they are part of my body. They're part of me."

"No! It's not you. It's this ridiculous family curse. It's your great-great-great-great-great grandfather's fault. Thanks to him, we all have to suffer. You are not your ears—and you are not your tail. I refuse to let this curse ruin your life. Your true self is still waiting inside, just waiting to come out."

"I know, Father."

"That's why you need to get married to a girl of our own class, one of our own kind—someone who will accept you, and the curse will be broken. That's why I need you to cooperate. You understand, right? I only want the best for you, for our family. Getting married is the best route forward for all of us. I know you understand."

"Yes, Father, I do."

"Then, please, will you try to cooperate? Please follow the steps that Nathalie and I have so clearly outlined for you, and do not deviate. Follow the path, and you will find the perfect bride, and we will have our happy ending—you will be free of your ears and tail. Isn't that what you want?"

Adrien knew the only way to stop this lecture was to nod, so he did.

And then Nathalie rushed into the room with a frantic look on her face.

"Monsieur Agreste, we have a serious problem."

"What? What is it?"

"The girl that just ran out…Lila Rossi—she didn't sign the gag order. She could tell anyone about Adrien's appearance. Anyone at all."

* * *

Lila sprinted down the streets of Paris until she found the closest police station, where she reported a monster at the Agreste Mansion, with huge furry ears and a tail and fangs that had almost torn her apart.

Of course, she was met by nothing more than laughter.

"Mademoiselle, I beg your pardon, but this is very hard to believe," said the police chief, doubling over with giggles. "A monster with fangs and cat ears? Surely you must be joking."

Lila raised herself up to her full height—which was quite considerable—and glared at the jolly police chief.

"Why on earth would I joke about a horrifying experience like this? I know what I saw! Are you going to arrest him or not?"

"I'm sorry, Mademoiselle Rossi, but I cannot arrest a young man for a first date gone sour," said the police chief, shrugging. "If that were the case, I'd have to arrest half the city."

"Look, I know what you're thinking," said Lila. "It's because it's the Agreste family, isn't it? One of the richest families in Paris, old money, high class, with a great reputation—that's what I thought too. That's why I went there, because they were looking for a bride for their son. And who wouldn't want to marry into such a family? But they're all frauds, the lot of them. When Adrien mentioned that he was suffering from some sort of curse, I thought it was simply a figure of speech. But it was not a figure of speech. And they are not a nice family. And I am telling you, if I hadn't gotten out of there when I did, that monster they call a son… _he would have eaten me alive_."

The police chief rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"That's it. Please escort this young woman into the holding room overnight and make sure she understands that if she ever wants to come back into this station, she needs to have a legitimate complaint. Nobody in this office has time to listen to tall tales and libel against the most respected families in Paris. Monster, my foot."

"You'll regret ignoring my report!" Lila shouted as the other officers dragged her out of the office and into the holding room. "He's a monster! He will attack you!"

* * *

That night, outside the Rossi mansion, Gerard, Gabriel, Audrey, and Nathalie waited in a car, waiting for the young woman to return home.

"Lila should have come home by now, shouldn't she?" asked Gabriel, brows furrowed.

Nathalie nodded. "Yes. I don't know where she is."

Unaccustomed to staying up so late, the four adults soon fell asleep, and didn't wake up until the next morning, when they were rudely risen by Lila's indignant shrieks as she walked up to her doorstep after being released from the holding room and she read the headlines of the Sunday newspaper.

"ROSSI HEIR SUFFERS FROM NERVOUS BREAKDOWN? WHAT THE HELL?! WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?"

Gabriel and Nathalie sat bolt upright at the same time, ears ringing.

Gabriel turned to Nathalie, eyes narrowed. "Did you go to the press?"

"Of course not," said Nathalie, shaking her head. "I'm a matchmaker, not a gossipmonger. I would never do anything to jeopardize one of my clients, let alone one as sweet as Adrien."

"What's happening?" moaned Audrey, rising from the front seat. "Why is there shouting?"

"The press has discovered Lila's decidedly ungraceful behavior at our mansion from yesterday."

Audrey frowned. "They haven't learned about Adrien, have they? If they have, I will have that ridiculous Master Fu's head if it's the last thing I do. Gerard, please make sure to comb through every single Sunday paper and make sure there isn't even one sentence hinting at my son's connection to Mademoiselle Rossi. I knew something was wrong with that young woman. But _someone_ didn't believe me."

"Yes Madame, I will be sure to do so," replied Gerard with a respectful nod.

As the three others continued to bicker, he looked through the rearview mirror at the young woman standing in front of the mansion, practically hopping with rage, and smiled. A longtime butler for the family, he was protective of each and every one of them, and he had no patience for silly young flibbertigibbets who were more interested in the young master's fortune than they were in getting to know him.

Which was why he might have let a little something slip to the press about the nasty young woman who had come by the day before.

Surely nothing would go wrong.


	3. Lady

Lila stormed into the office of Miraculous Magazine, demanding to speak to the writer behind the piece exposing her "nervous breakdown."

"I DEMAND YOU TELL ME WHO DID THIS AT ONCE!" she shouted at Wayzz, the lead editor, a small, composed man who rather resembled a turtle with sleepy eyes, dressed in green from head to toe. He stared at her, unimpressed.

"I am the daughter of the top aide to the Italian ambassadors to France! Do you understand what this kind of slander will do to my reputation? How dare you write such drivel! I will sue your pathetic little publication for libel!"

"I'm sorry, Mademoiselle, but we have it on good authority from reliable sources that your behavior was exactly as described in the article. Miraculous Magazine only reports the truth," said Wayzz, waving his hand dismissively before looking back down at the article he was editing.

"You don't understand what my father is going to do to me. I am next in line to the Rossi throne! To inherit the responsibility of generations of reputation! Do you have any idea what a story like this will do to me?!"

"I'm sorry, Mademoiselle, but that's not our problem. And if I may say something, you are far from royalty. Please compose yourself, or I will have to ask you to leave."

"I am _not_ a delusional maniac," Lila hissed, leaning over the desk into Wayzz's face.

"Some might say that's a matter of opinion," he replied with a shrug.

Lila's eyes blackened with fury.

"You are going to print a retraction right now, or _I am going to rip your guts out one by one if it's the last thing I do_."

Wayzz pressed 1 on his phone and leaned into the speaker. "Security, I need your assistance."

* * *

Gabriel stormed into the living room just as Audrey and Adrien were about to sit at the piano to play a duet.

"We must go abroad. It is far too risky to stay here. Have you seen all of the papers? They're all leaping on that article in Miraculous Magazine, talking about "hallucinations of a monstrous young man with terrifying ears and the fangs of a werewolf."

Audrey turned to her husband with a shrug. "That could describe any number of young men in this city. What does that have to do with us?"

"Surely you know who they are talking about," Gabriel responded, cutting his eyes at his son as Audrey glared at him, eyes narrow.

"It's just like eighteen years ago," he continued, pacing around the room. "Reporters swarming everywhere, asking questions—at this rate, Adrien will be exposed, and then what chance will we have?"

"We could move to Provence," said Adrien in a droll voice, turning to his mother. "I hear the lavender fields are nice this time of year."

"Provence is good," said Audrey with a nod.

"Or perhaps London."

"Oh, yes, you could practice your English."

"I _could_ practice my English!"

Gabriel blinked at them, imagining crowds of Londoners fleeing in horror from the sight of his son walking blithely down the city streets, ears and tail exposed.

"Never mind. Clearly I overreacted."

He whirled around and rushed out of the room. _"Nathalie! Get me a new list of eligible young women right now!_ "

* * *

Lila howled in fury as she was dragged out of the Miraculous Magazine building by security officers for the second time in less than 48 hours.

 _"I DEMAND A RETRACTION! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! ADRIEN AGRESTE HAS RUINED MY LIFE! HE'S A CAT, I'M TELLING YOU! HE'S A BEAST! HE HAD HIDEOUS EARS AND A DISGUSTING BLACK TAIL! I'M NOT MAD! WHY WILL NO ONE BELIEVE ME?!"_

As the security officers pulled her to the entrance, her protests caught the attention of one Master Fu, who peered after her with interest.

"Wait, wait! Hold on there! I believe that young woman has an appointment with me."

* * *

Nathalie spread the profiles of several potential matches across the dinner table.

"Okay, well, first, there's Juleka Couffaine," she said, pointing to a picture of a raven-haired young woman with dark eyes, dressed from head to toe in black and purple.

"No, I don't think so," murmured Audrey. "And anyway, I've heard rumors that Juleka has no interest in men as it is."

"Is that right?" replied Nathalie, eyebrows raised. "I suppose I'll have to take her off my list then. A pity, she was so very striking."

Gabriel frowned. "Please do all the necessary research prior to presenting us with any new options. I don't want to waste time on any women who do not have the potential to be the right match. And let us discuss the matter of the financial gift to the bride's family. We should double it."

Adrien walked into the room, twirling a spring of catnip around his fingers as he took in the scene.

"If they don't want to look at me now, what makes you think that giving them more money will change that? They're still going to scream and run."

"Well, with that attitude…" replied Gabriel, curt and dismissive.

"Yes, my attitude is really the problem here," said Adrien with a sigh, slowly pacing around the room and pausing at the large circular mirror near the door.

He gazed thoughtfully at his reflection, raising his hands to cover the soft black ears peeking out of his hair. With them covered, he looked almost like the normal young man his father wanted him to be.

"Oh, mon minou," murmured Audrey. "It's not your fault."

Adrien smiled. "I know. It's not _my_ face, it's my great great great great grandfather's face. He's not me, and I'm not him."

"And don't you forget it," added Gabriel.

Adrien nodded and slowly walked out of the room.

* * *

Across town, Lila found herself crouching down in a small and cramped van filled to the brim with newspaper clippings and various mythological memorabilia next to the reporter known as Master Fu.

"I almost gave my ability to walk for that story eighteen years ago," he said slowly, pointing to the cane in the corner of the van that he now used to help him move around. "But I didn't get anything out of it, except a few bad photos and an editorial that sounds more like a conspiracy theory than anything plausible."

"So you didn't actually see him?"

Master Fu shook his head. "Who, the baby? No, I didn't. I only caught a glimpse of him. But it was enough to get me suspicious. I thought my head was playing tricks on me, but they wouldn't have been so scared if they didn't really have something to hide."

"Well, thank god _someone_ believes me," muttered Lila.

"Unfortunately, me believing you isn't going to do any good."

Lila frowned, disappointed. "Everyone in Paris already thinks I've had some sort of nervous breakdown. I don't know what to do."

"Well, we're gonna need some proof to clear both our names. We'll need to get back inside the Agreste mansion. Do you think you can do it?"

"No. There's no way I'm ever going back in there again to face that monster. I just want to clear my name."

"Are you sure? We just need one clear photo."

Lila shook her head vigorously, her eyes bright and frantic. "No. Noooo, no no no. No. No! _I am not going back in there._ "

"Well, in that case, we're going to have to find somebody who can. We can hook her up with the matchmaking agency that connected you to the Agreste family."

"No, you don't understand. They only want to see blue bloods, old money. Common everyday ruffians won't even get through the door. It's part of the whole 'curse' thing. I thought it was just Monsieur Agreste being precious about not wanting Adrien to marry outside his class, but apparently it actually matters. And unfortunately, I don't think we're going to find any blue bloods lining up to help us. It's not like they need the money."

"No…" murmured Master Fu. "Regular blue bloods might not, but down-and-out blue bloods might. And I think I know just the girl."

* * *

Lila curled her lip in disgust as Master Fu led her down the back streets of Paris to the doors of a dingy little saloon, where a compact little woman with a face full of freckles and bright red hair was acting as bouncer.

Master Fu waved as as he approached. "Hello, Tikki. Is Lady Coccinelle here tonight?"

"Depends on who's asking for her," replied the older woman, raising an eyebrow as she turned to look at Lila.

"Tikki, play nice," scolded Master Fu. "Mademoiselle Rossi is with me."

"I see," said Tikki, clearly unimpressed. "Well, you'll find her in the bar, as usual. Though I can't imagine what business either of you would have with her at this time of night."

As she spoke, Lila noticed a young woman with bright blue eyes and long dark hair pulled into pigtails striding out of the kitchen, pulling a peacoat over clothes that were beautifully tailored but clearly well worn. She was yawning and rubbing her eyes, obviously exhausted.

"Who is that?"

Master Fu smiled at the young woman, recognizing her immediately.

"Pardon me, Lady Coccinelle, but may we have a word?"

The young woman turned around, confused.

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?"

Master Fu shook his head. "No, but I know you. Did a little research. And it seems like in a few short years, you've managed to spend all the money your family spent generations building, and now you work in a saloon kitchen. Surely you must be frustrated."

Lady Coccinelle whipped her head to look at Tikki, eyes wide with amazement, before bursting into laughter and walking past him and Lila towards the door.

"Hey, hear me out!" Master Fu called after her. "I'll make it worth your while."

"Listen," said Lady Coccinelle, turning around and shaking her head. "You've got the wrong girl."

Lila rolled her eyes and interjected. "Is ten thousand euros worth your while?"

Lady Coccinelle whirled back around, incredulity slowly turning into calculation.

"Okay. I'm listening."


End file.
